Target’s grocery chief quits

Target Corp., the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, is facing another crisis as its grocery chief Anne Dement is leaving the company. Ms. Dament was appointed by CEO Brian Cornell in a bid to overhaul the grocery business. Her departure comes as the Minneapolis-based supermarket continues to struggle in the grocery department. Ms. Dament, a former Safeway Inc. executive joined the company as senior vice president of grocery merchandising in April 2015.

Ms. Dament, during her 18 months tenure, brought in many changes in the company including adding hundreds of gluten-free and organic items to its shelves and refurbishing its store design. But none could impress the customers enough. Ms. Dament would reportedly step down on November 18th. Chief Merchandising Officer Mark Tritton will handle her part.

Supermarkets has been a risky issue for Target for some time: It brings in more than $18 billion a year in sales, yet a decrease in customer traffic has made stocking and disseminating fresh food precarious. In August, Target reported a surprising 2.2 percent drop in traffic and a 1.1 percent slide in comparable quarterly sales.

Ms. Dament is the third senior executive to depart Target in recent months. In August, Jeff Jones, Target’s chief marketing officer, took a job as president of Uber. Target’s chief digital officer, Jason Goldberger, left the company in September.